hey guys so if you're pretty new to
shopping from our eco-friendly or
ethically made clothes or even if you've
been doing it for a while it's kind of a
guarantee that you're gonna hit some
road bumps or blocks you also might
encounter some criticism or curiosity in
this video I'm going to talk about some
common reasons and excuses I hear around
shopping from our conscious clothing I
hope to clear up some misconceptions
give you some tips if you've hit any
roadblocks and generally discuss how we
can have positive conversations focusing
on the things we have control over and
can do given our individual situations
so the first is that sustainable fashion
is not fashionable now this depends on
your personal style and your definition
of fashionable but I usually see this in
the context of people saying that eco
fashion is all hemp hippie clothes or
that organic clothing is just not their
style this I feel like is a bit of an
outdated thought things have drastically
changed especially in the last few years
with more and more sustainable
alternatives and fashion-forward brands
available now I still think there's a
lot of room for growth and I would love
to see more interesting and innovative
designs and if you do struggle to find
ethical Styles you like shopping
secondhand can be a great way to find
unique pieces and also check out sites
like Etsy where you can purchase
directly from independent designers also
sustainable fashion can refer to and
mean so many different things that
assuming that it's all the same and all
the same style just doesn't make sense
the next one is that it shouldn't be our
responsibility as customers to worry
about these things
companies should be doing the right
things and governments should have
proper regulations that protect people
animals and the environment in a perfect
world this would be true ideally we
could all go into a store pick up a
piece of clothing and not worry about
the ethics or impact but unfortunately
that's just not the way things are as
consumers we are part of the system and
I do think we have a responsibility to
learn and inform ourselves and to try
our best to make mindful decisions and
reduce our impact next is that ethical
fashion is expensive so price can
definitely be a big barrier when it
comes to buying more sustainable and
ethically made clothes and depending on
your
financial situation budget and we're
used to shopping there can be some big
sticker shock when you see the prices
now first I want to say that I of course
recognize that everyone's financial
situation is different and this goes
back to doing the best you can and
making choices that are right for you
I've gotten a few requests to do a video
on more affordable sustainable fashion
brands and I will definitely make that
for you guys but just know that the
prices are never going to be comparable
to fast fashion prices it's important to
understand that the prices of ethical
clothing are what they are for a reason
and better reflect the real or the true
cost of the garments and a quick side
note if you haven't seen the documentary
the true cost I highly recommend
watching it and it's now available on
Netflix ethical brands are not trying to
rip you off and make crazy profits the
companies that are actually making the
crazy profits are the fast fashion
brands when clothing is incredibly cheap
there are hidden costs that you're not
actually seeing these could be things
like the people aren't paid enough they
don't have proper safety equipment or
there could be environmental costs like
toxic chemical use or pollution so while
you might not be paying for it someone
or something else could be so eco and
ethical clothing is more expensive but
some things to consider are maybe buying
less but buying better can you divide
your clothing budget up amongst fewer
things that way it doesn't actually end
up costing you any more according to
Elizabeth Kline the author of
overdressed Americans by an average of
68 new garments every year so even if
those garments were bought very cheaply
that really adds up if you don't already
consider shopping secondhand it's an
incredibly ethical way of shopping and
can be very affordable depending where
you go it can even be cheaper than fast
fashion I've also seen a lot of people
that when they declutter their closet
they sell their clothes and use that
money to invest in a few good key items
also one of the benefits or results of
having a capsule wardrobe is that you
should buy less clothing which often
means that you can afford to pay a
little bit more for the items you do
choose to buy finally regarding price it
might be helpful to look at things as a
cost per where kind of investment for
example when I was a teenager I had
of really cheap tank tops that would
last me pretty much only the summer
before they were too worn out and now I
have tank tops that are better quality
and have lasted me for years and years
in the end the better quality tank tops
actually end up being cheaper when you
look at how much wear I got out of them
next is the idea that if we don't buy
fast fashion all the garment workers
will lose their jobs or another version
of this is that the garment workers are
just happy to have a job or it's better
than no job so this is very complex but
there are some important things to think
about first just because someone is
willing to do a job to survive or to
support their family doesn't mean that
it's ever okay to take advantage of that
or exploit them also supporting fast
fashion does not guarantee job security
for the workers the brands contract and
subcontract out work so a factory you
might get a huge order and then a couple
months later they might get nothing
because the brand has moved on to a
cheaper factory the company could also
decide to just stop manufacturing in a
particular country and move somewhere
else and fast fashion brands are not
going to shut down overnight what's more
likely is that if they're selling less
clothing their orders will become
smaller and hopefully the garment
workers then don't have to work crazy
long unpaid overtime the brands can also
definitely afford to take a hit to their
profits and that will hopefully wake
them up and encourage actual change also
on the other hand by supporting ethical
brands you are helping them grow which
creates more jobs that are safe
supportive and fair paying the next
thing is I can't find my size style or a
certain type of garment so I completely
get that if you're trying to shop more
consciously and you can't find the
things you're looking for that can be
really frustrating and discouraging
unfortunately we're just not at a point
yet where there are ethical alternatives
for everyone's needs and so this goes
back to doing what you can and trying
your best some things to consider our
shopping secondhand see if there are any
eco fashion bloggers with a similar
style or body type to you and see where
they get their clothes no matter where
you end up buying your clothes
from focus on things that are going to
last you a long time and along with that
care for your clothes so that they last
and you have to replace them less often
and my next video will be all about
caring for your clothes so definitely
check that out
don't forget about tailors and the
possibility of having things altered if
you have friends that are similar sizes
you can try doing clothing swaps also I
highly encourage you that if there's a
company you purchase from that isn't
very sustainable or ethical email them
it's important to let them know that
you'd like to see more eco-friendly
products and better transparency around
their manufacturing the company might
not realize that that's something their
customers care about and it might
encourage them to improve and make
changes the last one is the idea that
there are issues with everything it's
impossible to be a hundred percent
sustainable or ethical and the things we
do don't actually make a difference so
this is obviously a very pessimistic
perspective unfortunately I hear it a
lot but I also do kind of understand
where this comes from it's very easy to
feel like these issues are just so
complex and overwhelming and once you
start digging a little you uncover more
and more problems which can make it feel
like it's just unsolvable and incredibly
discouraging I've had a roller coaster
of emotions and moments especially in
fashion school where I just wanted to
quit and have no part of the industry
but ignoring the problems is obviously
not going to solve them so I think it's
important to first recognize that
nothing we do is going to be perfect but
small steps do matter and we're all
going to continue to learn and get
better and better there's no single
solution as humans we love a quick fix
something easy just follow these steps
and everything will be great
but the problems are too complicated for
that real solutions and change has to
come from a variety of places from the
brands their workers governments and
consumers as consumers we are only a
part of this big process but we can also
make a difference and while I think it's
important to talk about the problems and
issues I also think it's important to
balance that conversation and talk about
the positive things that we all can
as consumers we have control over what
we buy what we do with and how we treat
the things we buy and what we say I
think it's up to each person to just try
their best and figure out what works for
your lifestyle personal situation and
values and you might feel like the
things you do don't make a difference in
the grand scheme of things but they
definitely add up for example it takes
twenty seven hundred liters of water to
make one cotton t-shirt that's the
amount of water that you drink in two to
three years so just think about the huge
impact it would actually have if people
just bought a little less and didn't
view clothes as disposable things to use
a couple times so I hope you found this
video interesting helpful and maybe
thought-provoking I love to read your
comments and would especially love to
hear any ideas or opinions you have on
the way we talk about these issues do
you agree that we should try to approach
it in a positive way talking about the
cans instead of the camps thank you so
much for watching please like and share
this video if you enjoyed it and I will
see you in the next one